Matthew 21:33-41

33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it to tenant farmers and took a trip.34 When it was time for harvest, he sent his servants to the tenant farmers to collect his fruit.35 But the tenant farmers grabbed his servants. They beat some of them, and some of them they killed. Some of them they stoned to death.36 “Again he sent other servants, more than the first group. They treated them in the same way.37 Finally he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.38 “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him and we’ll have his inheritance.’39 They grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.40 “When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenant farmers?”41 They said, “He will totally destroy those wicked farmers and rent the vineyard to other tenant farmers who will give him the fruit when it’s ready.”

Jesus’ journey has at last brought him to Jerusalem. Daily he teaches in the Temple courtyard where disciples would gather around their various rabbis to hear the word of God interpreted, listen to stories, and debate. It soon becomes apparent that Jesus’ stories have an edge to them. People gather...

If I am only a tenant, a sojourner in God’s creation, then how should I treat the earth and those who sojourn with me?

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The Decalogue in Exodus 20 need not be considered a litmus test of righteousness or religious purity but rather a declaration that lies near the heart of the covenant relationship between Yahweh and Israel. The Torah is the way the people say yes to God’s saving initiatives. Psalm 19:1-6 links the gift of the Torah to other acts of divine creation. The balance of the psalm celebrates the strength and beauty of the Torah and moves the reader behind the Torah to its Giver, thereby proclaiming the gospel of the well-ordered life. In Philippians 3 Paul speaks of himself as leaning into the future in response to the manner in which Jesus Christ has invaded his own life. The parable in Matthew 21 presents a direct and bold affinity for living in accordance with the gospel, producing “fruits of the kingdom.”

Questions and Suggestions for Reflection

• Read Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20. If you are unable to live out the Commandments, which ones would you remove from the list?
• Read Psalm 19. If you monitored your speech for a day, how would you describe the tone and content? What one gift would you petition God for?
• Read Philippians 3:4b-14. How is your church and its people a sign for those who need hope and new life?
• Read Matthew 21:33-46. Where in your church, among the members and in the various meetings and activities, have you seen evidence that folks “have forgotten who owns the vineyard”?